In John 7:37 and 38, the Bible says, "In the last day, that great day of feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If a man thirst, let him come unto me and drink."

Wisdom is something we all need in life, and it's never too early to begin learning the importance of living in a way that defers to the wisdom of God. As theologian J. I. Packer has been quoted as saying, "Wisdom is the power to see and the inclination to choose the best and highest goal, together with the surest means of attaining it." If you want to provide children with everything they need to turn into happy, healthy adults, then they are going to need both physical nourishment and spiritual nourishment in the form of wisdom. One of the best places to find such spiritually encouraging words is, of course, in the Bible.

Below you will find a comprehensive lesson that is designed to teach Christian children why it is so important to seek God's wisdom in their lives.

SCRIPTURE

In John 7:37 and 38, the Bible says, "In the last day, that great day of feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If a man thirst, let him come unto me and drink." Jesus shows us that He is the voice of wisdom crying to those who need to be saved.

APPLICATION

Sit the kids down and ask them if they have ever been very, very thirsty. If any kid has a story, let him or her tell it. Pour yourself a cup of water and drink some while expressing your pleasure in drinking it.

"Kids, thirst is our body's way to let us know it needs water. A large portion of our body is made up of water and we need it to survive. Our body knows that and helps us remember to drink water. Without water, we will not live. If we do not get enough water in our diet, we will have health problems. Without the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, we will not live an eternal life with Him. We can come to Christ for salvation and for wisdom to live life. When we are confused or do not know what to do, we can pray to God, seeking His wisdom for our lives."

"Our world is full of people who lack wisdom and do not do what is necessary to get wisdom. More and more leaders in our country are turning away from God and turning to their own selfish view of the world and wisdom."

"If we are already saved, we have heard Jesus' voice and have responded by coming to Him to be our personal Lord and Saviour. He also wants us to look to Him for wisdom in everyday life just as we want a drink of water in order to quench our bodily thirst."

EXTENDED DISCUSSION

Now that the kids know about wisdom, the discussion can be extended to include the following:

1) Wisdom Rejected - Simplicity - Ask the kids if they have ever had a parent or teacher tell them to do something and they did not do it. It could be a directive or some kind of preventative statement such as: "Stay away..." "Come home by..." "Don't hit your sister!" This is rejecting wisdom. Ask them about the consequences they had to face, show them that it would have been more thoughtful and considerate to listen, and perhaps even ask them to apologize for not listening.

2) Wisdom Rejected - Scorn - Scorn comes into a life when the Wisdom of God through His Word is rejected because not only is there no fear of God, but there is also no respect of God, no shame for doing something bad, no remorse after rejecting wisdom, or just no common decency to do what is right.

3) Wisdom Rejected - Foolishness - Once people get so caught up in rejecting the Wisdom of God, they become foolish. Foolishness causes us to not be humble, and people then believe too much in their own knowledge. This leads to them loving their own knowledge so much that they hate the wisdom of God.

CONCLUSION

Wisdom is important for life here on Earth and in Heaven. We should always seek true biblical wisdom from God. Many people have no thought for spiritual things and do not seek the wisdom of God. Make a difference by being a child of God who always seeks His wisdom.

Ask the children if they have been saved. Make yourself available to anyone who would like to know more about salvation and Jesus Christ.